Bandaged, his mother beside him in tears, Kardin Ulysse told the press he'd lost all sight in his right eye. He’d been viciously attacked by bullies at Mann Junior High in Brooklyn.
It happened in the cafeteria around 8 am. After trying desperately to escape his attackers, 14-year-old Kardin was pinned down and repeatedly kicked and punched by two students shouting homophobic insults.
Kardin, his parents, previous attacks and even a DOE survey all warned that Mann had a serious bullying problem. Still Kardin was not protected.
The DOE says two students were arrested - that “the attack was taken very seriously.” So Mann knows how to identify bullying. It knows how to punish it. But it should have prevented it. Teens’ brains are
not developed enough for them to always make responsible decisions; it’s up to adults to stop bullying.
Tell Brooklyn DOE to implement an effective anti-bullying program at once.
We, the undersigned, expect the Brooklyn School System and the State of New York to take the issue of bullying seriously.
News sources reported that the lawsuit recently filed by Kardin’s parents is not the only one against the school over bullying issues. NY Daily News says that “The parents of another 13-year-old student filed a lawsuit against Roy H. Mann last year alleging a pattern of bullying.” Furthermore the same source reported the following results from a DOE survey done last year:
“ 63% of the students at the school reported at least some of the time classmates are harassed or threatened based on their race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
The same survey stated that 40% of the school’s students didn’t feel safe in the building and 44% said students threaten or bully other students “most of the time” or “all of the time.”
Clearly Mann was aware of problems and failed to take the proper steps to prevent what happened to Kardin. We request that the school make sure violence like this never happens again; implement an effective anti-bullying program.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.
